PRAGUE: Five Czech soldiers have been injured in an attack in Afghanistan only two months after three others were killed, the Czech defense ministry said on Thursday.
“The attack on the Czech patrol occurred on Wednesday around 1220 GMT near the Bagram base in the Parwan province,” the ministry said in a statement.
The five soldiers were injured when a civilian vehicle loaded with explosives was blown up near an armored vehicle which then rolled over, it added.
One soldier with serious injuries underwent surgery and his life is no longer in danger.
Another with light injuries remained in hospital while the other three were released, the ministry said.
On August 5, three Czech soldiers were killed in a suicide bombing while on patrol in the eastern Parwan province alongside a US soldier and two Afghan soldiers, who were wounded. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
It was the deadliest assault on NATO soldiers in many months.
The Lidove noviny broadsheet daily reported on Wednesday that Czech special forces had killed one of the August attackers and captured another, while Czech TV reported “far more” had been killed and captured.
Thirteen Czech soldiers have been killed in NATO missions in Afghanistan.
Five Czech soldiers wounded in Afghanistan attack — ministry
Five Czech soldiers wounded in Afghanistan attack — ministry
- The five soldiers were injured when a civilian vehicle loaded with explosives was blown up near an armored vehicle which then rolled over
- Thirteen Czech soldiers have been killed in NATO missions in Afghanistan
Spain swine fever spreads outside containment zone
- African swine fever is a viral disease that is harmless to humans but nearly always fatal for pigs and wild boars
BARCELONA: African swine fever has been detected outside a containment zone in Spain’s northeastern Catalonia region for the first time since its outbreak in November, officials said on Friday.
African swine fever is a viral disease that is harmless to humans but nearly always fatal for pigs and wild boars.
Although it has not spread to domestic pig farms, the outbreak has disrupted exports from Spain, the world’s third-largest producer of pork and its derivatives.
Thirteen new cases in wild boars have been reported, including two in areas outside the six-kilometer containment zone near Barcelona, Catalonia’s agriculture department said.
Authorities then expanded the high-risk zone to the affected municipalities and restricted access to the surrounding woods to prevent further spread.
The outbreak was Spain’s first reported case since 1994, and more than 100 cases have now been detected in wild boars.
“More than ever, it is essential not to lower our guard against a disease that remains present,” said Oscar Ordeig, regional agriculture minister.
The origin of the outbreak remains unknown, and a judicial investigation is ongoing.
